By embracing four fundamental premises and putting into practice the author's many helpful and practical suggestions, you'll acquire the skills and insights necessary for turning around even the most troublesome relationship. What you need to keep in mind is that: (1) nothing in your life happens randomly and your difficulties have a deeper purpose; (2) frustration and even emotional pain are as necessary for your personal and spiritual growth as love and joy; (3) transforming enmity and completing unfinished business may be the most important skills you can learn in life; and (4) when you make an effort to work on your inner self, your outer relationships will be transformed.        This groundbreaking book draws upon state-of-the-art psychological principles and timeless spiritual practices from all traditions. Filled with enlightening exercises and entertaining stories, Thank You for Being Such a Pain will forever change the way you see the difficult people in your life . . . as well as the way you see yourself.

    This expansive, like-hearted community transcends race, orientation, gender, religious tradition, political affiliation, and nation of origin--and finds its affinity in the deeper place of our shared humanity, which is the True North of his writing. This collection lovingly pulls together some of John's most widely-read and most beloved essays on faith, politics, grief, and the elemental parts of being human. It is an encouraging, inspiring, challenging storehouse of "stuff that needs to be said."

    A coincidence—sometimes a silly little thing—changes the course of your day or even your life. Is it chance, or is God communicating with you?A surprising answer to prayer comes at just the right moment. Could God be showing you that He cares about the details of your life? Bestselling author SQuire Rushnell says these silent little miracles are godwinks—messages of assurance that no matter what is happening in your life or how uncertain things may seem at the moment, God is with you and will help you move toward certainty.When God Winks at You is packed with true stories demonstrating that God does communicate with us, making incredible things happen in our lives every single day.As you read the riveting accounts of everyday and famous people—including Tim Conway, Billy Graham, and Don Knotts—you will begin to recognize the godwinks in your own life, both past and present. Through these tangible signposts from God, we receive personalized messages that reassure us, stop us from worrying, chart our path in life, and help us keep the faith.Contains uplifting, engaging, and encouraging true stories of everyday miraclesEnjoy Bite-size stories perfect for morning motivation or at any point in your dayAttain an unshakable confidence that you are never alone . . . and never have beenProvides a great gift for anyone seeking reassurance that God is with usWith delightful warmth and familiarity, SQuire has masterfully crafted a timeless collection of inspiring and faith-building stories that can be enjoyed again and again.

    Leon McBeth's 'The Baptist heritage' is a definitive, fresh interpretation of Baptist history. Based on primary source research, the book combines the best features of chronological and topical history to bring alive the story of Baptists around the world.

    It is therefore one of the earliest works of St. Alphonsus. The Saint entitled it: "A method of conversing continually and lovingly with God;" and to the title he added a note to say that it had been translated from the French, but that he had " augmented it with holy thoughts, affections and practices." It was surely the Saint's humility that made him thus minimise his part in the composition of the book, for as a matter of fact he entirely recast the little French treatise and made it all his own. His biographer, Father Berthe, could write of it: "In this golden little book are to be found the most familiar thoughts of the holy author." (Life Vol. I. P. 575).

    Similar to the first book, Thrift Store Graces contains personal accounts of Knuth’s experiences serving as a once reluctant, now enthusiastic volunteer at a thrift store in Kalamazoo, Michigan. What sets Thrift Store Graces apart from her first book is that Knuth introduces us to some far more challenging personal situations that emerge as a result of her volunteer work. Additionally, she invites us to join her as she hesitantly embarks on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje in war-ravaged Bosnia. Through it all, her delightful sense of humor keeps her going, along with her conviction that some of God’s greatest gifts come disguised as difficulties.Witty, inspiring, and thought-provoking all at once, the stories in Thrift Store Graces subtly compel us to redefine what it means to volunteer and to rethink why it is that we volunteer in the first place.

    Richard Bushman, an esteemed cultural historian and a practicing Mormon, moves beyond the popular stereotype of Smith as a colorful fraud to explore his personality, his relationships with others, and how he received revelations. An arresting narrative of the birth of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling also brilliantly evaluates the prophet’s bold contributions to Christian theology and his cultural place in the modern world.

    But we are not referring to just any knowledge. Gnosis is knowledge which produces a great transformation in those who receive it. Knowledge capable of nothing less than waking up man and helping him to escape from the prison in which he finds himself. That is why Gnosis has been so persecuted throughout the course of history, because it is knowledge considered dangerous for the religious and political authorities who govern mankind from the shadows.Every time this religion, absolutely different from the rest, appears before man, the other religions unite to try to destroy or hide it again.Primordial Gnosis is the original Gnosis, true Gnosis, eternal Gnosis, Gnostic knowledge in its pure form. Due to multiple persecutions, Primordial Gnosis has been fragmented, distorted and hidden.By recovering and uniting the scattered fragments, Primordial Gnosis can be reconstructed and brought to the world once again. This book is a complete synthesis of the forbidden theology of Primordial Gnosis.

    A snake-handling preacher by the name of Glendel Buford Summerford has just tried to murder his wife, Darlene, by snakebite. At gunpoint, he forces her to stick her arm in a box of rattlesnakes. She is bitten twice and nearly dies. The trial, which becomes a sensation throughout southern Appalachia, echoes familiar themes from a troubled secular world - marital infidelity, spouse abuse, and alcoholism - but it also raises questions about faith, forgiveness, redemption, and, of course, snakes. Glenn Summerford is convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to ninety-nine years in prison. When Dennis Covington covered the trial of Glenn Summerford for The New York Times, a world far beyond the trial opened up to him. Salvation on Sand Mountain begins with a crime and a trial and then becomes an extraordinary exploration of a place, a people, and an author's descent into himself. The place is southern Appalachia - a country deep and unsettled, where the past and its culture collide with the economic and social realities of the present, leaving a residue of rootlessness, anxiety, and lawlessness. All-night video stores and tanning salons stand next to collapsed chicken farms and fundamentalist churches. The people are poor southern whites. Peculiar and insular, they are hill people of Scotch-Irish descent: religious mystics who cast out demons, speak in tongues, drink strychnine, run blowtorches up their arms, and drape themselves with rattlesnakes. There is Charles McGlocklin, the End-Time Evangelist; Cecil Esslinder, the red headed guitar player with the perpetual grin; Aunt Daisy, the prophetess; Brother Carl Porter; Elvis Presley Saylor;Gracie McAllister; Dewey Chafin; and the legendary Punkin Brown, all of whose faith illuminates these pages. And then there is Dennis Covington, himself Scotch-Irish, whose own family came down off of Sand Mountain two generations ago to work in the steel mills of Birmingham, and

    There are no verse references, and Scripture segments are seamlessly woven together with transition text into a single grand narrative. For those intimidated or overwhelmed by the unabridged Bible, The Story helps people understand God’s Word more fully and engage with it more easily.Simple, accessible, and easy to use, churches are finding The Story a powerful way to engage their people in Bible reading like never before. As The Story brings the Bible to life, the broad scope of God’s message will penetrate hearts. People of all ages will be swept up in the story of God’s love and God’s plan for their lives.God goes to great lengths to rescue lost and hurting people. That is what The Story is all about: the story of the Bible, God’s great love affair with humanity. Condensed into 31 accessible chapters, The Story sweeps you into the unfolding progression of Bible characters and events from Genesis to Revelation. Using the clear, accessible text of the NIV Bible, it allows the stories, poems, and teachings of the Bible to read like a novel. And like any good story, The Story is filled with intrigue, drama, conflict, romance, and redemption; and this story’s true! “This book tells the grandest, most compelling story of all time: the story of a true God who loves his children, who established for them a way of salvation and provided a route to eternity. Each story in these 31 chapters reveals the God of grace---the God who speaks; the God who acts; the God who listens; the God whose love for his people culminated in his sacrifice of Jesus, his only Son, to atone for the sins of humanity.”

    Now Father Jonathan peels back the layers of questions that arise when someone asks, "Why me?" in response to human suffering. With an accessible voice and calming pastoral guidance, Father Jonathan leads readers through each step of suffering---from doubt and anger to healing and acceptance. The Promise comprises three parts, each addressing a step in the process of healing. Part 1, "God on Trial," speaks to doubts and anger that arise when we suffer and poses tough questions such as "Does God even care?" and "Why should we trust a God who allows innocent suffering?" Part 2 takes the reader on a journey of finding emotional and spiritual healing from suffering. In part 3 Father Jonathan introduces the five "Principles for Freedom-Living." From living your personal vocation to a step-by-step guide for sketching a plan for your spiritual life, the freedom principles are practical and easily applied to everyday life. Together these five principles have the power to transform what would otherwise be useless suffering into a means of great sanctification and personal fulfillment. While pulling back the layers of philosophy and theology that surround human suffering, Father Jonathan offers not only a deeply spiritual answer but also a practical one to this most fundamental of human questions: Why do we suffer? The Promise not only addresses how to understand and live with suffering, but also poses the toughest question regarding our relationship to God: Why do we suffer under a benevolent God? Father Jonathan delves into how we can heal from the spiritual, emotional, and even physical scars left behind by suffering. The Promise offers five principles for living a free life, or a life free of the fear that God is not there for us, and offers comfort and hope to those experiencing hard times.

    But tragic things happen too. What does it mean? We find ourselves in the middle of a story that is sometimes wonderful, sometimes awful, usually a confusing mixture of both, and we haven't a clue how to make sense of it all. No wonder we keep losing heart.We need to know the rest of the story.For when we were born, we were born into the midst of a great story begun before the dawn of time. A story of adventure, of risk and loss, heroism . . . and betrayal. A story where good is warring against evil, danger lurks around every corner, and glorious deeds wait to be done. Think of all those stories you've ever loved--there's a reason they stirred your heart. They've been trying to tell you about the true Epic ever since you were young.There is a larger story And you have a crucial role to play.

    These religions represent the last vestiges of the magnificent civilizations in ancient history: Persia, Babylon, Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs. Their followers have learned how to survive foreign attacks and the perils of assimilation. But today, with the Middle East in turmoil, they face greater challenges than ever before. In Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms, former diplomat Gerard Russell ventures to the distant, nearly impassable regions where these mysterious religions still cling to survival. He lives alongside the Mandaeans and Ezidis of Iraq, the Zoroastrians of Iran, the Copts of Egypt, and others. He learns their histories, participates in their rituals, and comes to understand the threats to their communities. Historically a tolerant faith, Islam has, since the early 20th century, witnessed the rise of militant, extremist sects. This development, along with the rippling effects of Western invasion, now pose existential threats to these minority faiths. And as more and more of their youth flee to the West in search of greater freedoms and job prospects, these religions face the dire possibility of extinction. Drawing on his extensive travels and archival research, Russell provides an essential record of the past, present, and perilous future of these remarkable religions.

    Beneath the layers of society's expectations, the roles you fill, and the messages you've been told, you'll find your whole, perfect, and worthy self. This empowering book is filled with exercises and actions you can take today to begin experiencing more of your life in the best way ever--as you!

    Overwhelmed. Overscheduled. Sound familiar? Today's velocity of life can consume and control us . . . until our breakneck pace begins to feel normal and expected. That's where the danger lies: When we spend our lives doing things that keep us busy but don't really matter, we sacrifice the things that do.What if your life could be different? What if you could be certain you were living the life God called you to live--and building a legacy for those you love? If you crave a simpler life anchored by the priorities that matter most, roll up your sleeves: Simplified living requires more than just cleaning out your closets or reorganizing your desk drawer. It requires uncluttering your soul. By eradicating the stuff that leaves your spirit drained, you can stop doing what doesn't matter--and start doing what does.In Simplify, bestselling author Bill Hybels identifies the core issues that lure us into frenetic living--and offers searingly practical steps for sweeping the clutter from our souls.